3 Ways You Can Help an Author

With the continued rise of online shopping, buyers increasingly rely on product reviews to help them choose items they have never purchased before. This trend is true across the board—from grocery items, to clothing, to school supplies, cars, sporting goods, event tickets, and more. After all, it’s a little scary to try a new recipe straight from an unknown cookbook as opposed to making a specialty dessert from my sisters’ tried-and-true recipe files.

I find that I now seek outside input more than ever before.

So what do buying habits of today’s consumers have to do with helping an author promote their book? Plenty! In fact, here are three specific ways that your firsthand knowledge can assist authors whose work you enjoy—and even those whose work you’d encourage your friends to steer clear of.

Share the Book on Your Social Media Account(s)

I love when my friends post a question like this: “What are you reading this month?” I try to comment with my answer as early as possible so that I get notifications when new replies are added. I’ve learned of several new books this way, and many of those are ones that I now recommend. I’ve also learned which books I want to avoid, either based on the reading preferences of the responder or due to a brief but honest review of a trusted fellow reader.

When posting about a newly completed book:

1. Complete the book or state that you are still reading it. I am ashamed to admit that I have heartily endorsed a book after only reading two chapters, only to find that the material “went South” by chapter four! As a general rule, however, you can tell early on if it’s something worth sharing.
2. Remember that just because it wasn’t your “style” doesn’t mean that it’s not a book that someone else would enjoy. Tell friends, followers, and/or other commenters what it was that they may find interesting and state that it was a genre or an author you likely would not choose again.
3. Try to include a one-sentence summary of the element that kept you reading. There’s no need to include a book report or an unsolicited detailed critique (whether good or bad). It’s helpful for others to know why you’re recommending the book—not just the title and author.
4. Try to include a photo of you holding the book (Instagram post or story) or include a link to where people can buy the book (if commenting on FB).

Sample comment (taken from an actual review): The House at the End of the Old Gravel Road by Brenda Strohbehn Henderson. The author’s conversational writing style felt like we were talking over coffee.

Ask Your Local Library to Carry the Book

Joe and I recently gifted our county’s library system with a copy of The House at the End of the Old Gravel Road. We utilize the library often and wanted to give back to provide good material for other readers. However, I’m not suggesting that you purchase copies of your new favorite books to donate to your local library (though, if you’re able to do so, that’s a nice thing to do).

On your library’s website, you should be able to find a “Suggest a Title” or “Recommend a Book” section. For our public library, it appears within the list of options on the Contact Us page. Simply fill in the information for the book(s) you’d like them to carry. The number of books you may recommend is often limited to only a few per month, but the more individual requests they receive about a particular book, the more likely they are to carry it.

Write an Honest Review on Amazon

Amazon provides a list of guidelines for those wanting to review a product. In their introductory material to that list, they state the following: “Customer Reviews should give customers genuine product feedback from fellow shoppers. We have a zero tolerance policy for any review designed to mislead or manipulate customers.” This is imperative for both reviewers and authors to remember.

A written review is an excellent way to support and encourage the author and also to give honest feedback that will help other shoppers know to purchase or avoid this particular book. Amazon makes the process easy so that people will offer a brief review and help them sell more of this book or direct prospective buyers to books more within their style of reading.

You can learn more about Amazon’s reviewing guidelines by clicking here.

Your friends trust you to point them in the right direction. By sharing good reading material that you, they, or both of you will enjoy, you are in turn helping authors to sell more books and to continue writing more worthwhile material. As a reader, I depend on it. As an author, I do too!